Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck. She plays Loretta Castorini, a widowed Italian American woman whose engagement becomes complicated when she falls in love with her fiancé’s passionate younger brother.
Directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley, Moonstruck blends romance, family comedy, and emotional drama. Cher’s performance helped establish her as a major film actor after years of success as a singer and entertainer. Nicolas Cage plays Ronny Cammareri, while Olympia Dukakis plays Loretta’s mother, Rose.
The film received six nominations at the 60th Academy Awards and won three Oscars. Cher won Best Actress, Olympia Dukakis won Best Supporting Actress, and John Patrick Shanley won Best Original Screenplay. Cher also won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for the same role.
The question refers to the Academy Award rather than every possible critics’ or industry award using the title “Best Actress.” That Oscar context makes Cher the single canonical answer. Sally Kirkland, Glenn Close, and Meryl Streep were among the other actresses associated with the 1987 Oscar race, but Cher won.